Verge
by CheynotShy
Summary: While he expected the talk between them to be difficult, he never expected it to be like this.


It was a few days later that Lotor was able to talk to Loki beyond how the whole ship would be able to survive on low supplies to Earth. It was a long conversation that went in circles with Loki and Valkyrie fighting mostly against each other on their defending points. It had taken Thor, Heimdall and Lotor to keep the two from slitting each other's throats.

In the end they all came to agreement that everyone would have to use little as possible. Just until they made it to Earth and resupply there. Lotor doubt that many of the passengers could survive this way as they were trying to navigate where Earth was. It wasn't in any of the maps that the Galra possessed and it seemed the same way with the Asgardians. They relied more on the Rainbow Bridge to get them places that were conquered than actual maps to guide them there.

There was also the issue of trying to get his body to return back to his Galra form. While Lotor didn't mind the advantages that his Altean body gave him during battle or training, the rest of the time it was unsettling for him. He knew that he should get used to this body if he ever wanted to use it freely like Hagger did during his brief time training with her. It would give him an advantage to negotiate with the Voltron Team if he ever needed to resort to the. Along with that it would make blending with the Asgardians a lot easier when they eventually go after his father.

But the feeling of wrongness that he felt when using the form outside of battle still made Lotor reluctant to want to use it like he wished he could. The convenience of him being able to flawless call on his Altean form for his plans didn't mean he was exactly comfortable with using it like that on a more emotional level.

As Lotor was handing over the seat to one of the gladiators for the night, he saw Loki was standing directly across from the door. His eyes kept shifting from the door to the hall like he was expecting someone to whisk him away at any moment. Which wouldn't be too far from how the last few days have been.

It only took a few seconds for him to realize why Loki was here and quickly gave his instructions to the gladiator for what his shift would entailed at this time of night. Then quietly he made his way to the Asgardian. Even if he was supposed to go to sleep after his shift was over, Lotor was curious about what the conversation that Loki had promised during the battle.

Loki quickly shifted his attention from lookout to him and silently started to walk away. Lotor sped up his pace so he could walk beside the other without difficulty. As Loki swiftly made his way through the ship, barely giving a hello to those who gave him a passing greeting. Lotor would only give a quick wave in return to those greetings, unsure if he was suppose to apologize for his companion's actions or not.

While he had been the leader of his group of Generals and was use to soldiers of other platoons giving him a passing greeting, they didn't expect anything in return. After all the half blood prince wasn't really to mingle with lower ranking soldiers nor acknowledge all that much other than during speeches. At least according to his father.

As they continued to make their way to where Loki felt more comfortable to share his story, Lotor noticed that height differences were not as noticeable as they were before. Loki was almost the same height as him in his Altean form and it was startling to see that Asgardians were a lot taller than he had perceived in his Galra form. Still the extra two inches that he had on Loki and Thor gave him some comfort, even if it was for petty reasons.

As he raised a hand to see that his skin was still the same colour of brown that he saw half an hour ago, Loki pulled him into through a doorway.

The room was small compared to the many rooms that the Galra ships contained that Lotor had been on. In fact it was small compared to many of the rooms he had seen on this ship. Still it wasn't small enough that he and Loki would be crowded when talking with each other even with basic furniture taking up most of the space. It was big enough that two tall people could move easily around in it.

As Loki sat down on the bed, Lotor stood by the door wondering if he where he should sit himself down. While the bed would be comfortable the talk between them could turn violent and would leave him little chance of getting past the Asgardian to escape. Still standing during a conversation that was extremely important between the both of them would be considered rude and he still need to keep these people's favour if he wanted to have their help for the future.

Taking a chair that the room had, he faced Loki who looked like he would rather be anywhere but here. Lotor didn't say anything, waiting for when the Asgardian felt like he could talk about the issue at hand. While he expected some answer for how Loki could move between his forms a lot more flawlessly than he could, he also suspected that there was something else to the form that prevented the man from using it as he pleased.

Oh how the universe liked to create parallels.

Loki shifted on the bed, still looking uncomfortable with the whole situation. Lotor noted to keep this memory to remember that even Loki had his moments of awkwardness. As the Asgardian took in a deep breath in, a few patches on Loki's face started to turn a light blue, growing darker. Before they could spread even further and turn his body blue, Loki exhald his breath out, suddenly making it go away. On his exhaled breath, the room turned a few degrees colder and his breath could be seen.

Lotor raised an eyebrow, his patience starting to run out. "You don't need to discuss with me about your other form right now if you're uncomfortable. I can wait however long for when you feel comfortable to talk about your Jötunn form." He says as he stands up. "No need to force yourself."

"And yet you remain in your other form despite not being comfortable with it." Loki said to him as he started to walk towards the door. Lotor paused for a moment, dissecting what the sentence could mean. Loki's tone had been even and his face also didn't give away much.

The many possible meanings that could be taken out of context from that sentence.

"I've tried on my own to return to my Galra form, but it seems that my body refuses to cooperate with me unlike the last time." He said back, throwing that little bit of information back into Loki's face. He knew it was petty and that it could make the Asgardian from talking about his past, but it could possibly lead to learning how shift between forms.

"That reminds me," Loki said, leaning back onto the bed. While it seems that he was going to let his remark go, Lotor knew better than that. "It seems that you can shift between two forms, but only during times when adrenaline is running high. I assume you're aware of this."

With a huff of laughter, Lotor answered back "Hagger made me aware of this fact when she tried to teach me. While she was flawless to switch between many forms she grew frustrated with me when I couldn't do it so flawlessly as well. My father on the other hand despites that I have such an ability and can use= it, even if it is sparingly, so there was no further lessons."

"And yet you speak to me about creating new traditions." Loki said harshly. The look in his green eyes spoke more than Lotor would ever hear from the man.

Stepping away from the doorframe and moving towards Loki, Lotor raised a hand to grip the other's leather clothing. The moment of surprise on Loki's face at such an action almost made him laugh. But he refrained from doing such a thing and pulled Loki closer to him, making sure the Asgardian could stare into his eyes and nowhere else.

"While I would love to give my wisdom on something I've spent countless years struggling over, I don't need your attitude about it "Lotor said, slowly and clearly. The commander side of him coming through even if it was supposed to be a calm conversation. "It's clear you're trying to take control of the current situation despite the fact you dragged me here. Either you want to tell me the truth about your Jötunn form now or you're just trying to force me away so you won't have to deal when one of us dies soon."

He could see the look in the Asgardian's face and eyes, the fear and awe that somehow existed together in the moment. He could also feel how Loki trembled in his hold. Yet Lotor didn't let go, expecting a verbal answer before he left. He would not deal with the man's insecurities, even if he could understand them.

Sometimes the best solution was to slap the sense into the person's head.

As the minutes dragged on, Lotor kept his grip on the leather clothing. He would not give in, not when he was so close to see what could be the real Loki. While he was not most fond of the Asgardian's moral character, he knew that the other man was strong nonetheless. Both in magic and his knowledge.

"Do you have an answer to my statement or will I have to keep you in this position for the rest of the night?"

Loki closed his eyes for a few moments, the movement behind the eyelids flickering quickly. Then with another deep breath like earlier, he let his skin turn blue.

It was a beautiful sight to witness. The last two times Lotor saw him in his Jötunn, he had already shifted. But seeing the pale skin slowly recced to the various shades of dark blue and the mysterious symbols that's carved into Loki's skin was something Lotor would never forget, even when he would finally grow old

Loki was clearly a beautiful man in his Asgardian form, but his Jötunn form made him beautiful in a different way. Taller than Lotor in his Galra form, he still barely touched the ceiling of the small room. The black curtain of hair that he had hanging around his shoulders stood out from the blue skin and the dark red eyes. Along with that the horns that were similar to the golden helmet he had on during the battle against Hela. They were only six inches long in length and the ends started to curve towards the end of them.

Overall the appearance was one that would make Lotor weak in the knees if he had met the other man when he was younger.

As the last bit of visible skin turned blue, Lotor noticed that the room had grown colder. Quite significantly. Slowly he let Loki's leather clothing go from his grip and pull his arms to cross over his chest, forcing his bare hands underneath them. He knew this would keep him warm enough to hear Loki's explanation.

Looking around the room, he saw that a thin layer of frost had covered everything in the small room. Patterns appeared in the frost, especially as it climbed the wall. As he peered at it, he noticed that the patterns look similar to the carvings on Loki's skin.

"This is my answer to your explanation." Loki finally said when Lotor met his eyes once more. There was something in his eyes that Lotor couldn't find the name for at the moment. But he knew that whatever it was, it burned in the Jötunn's eyes.

"Beautifully crafted." Was all he could say in return.

A small smile stayed on the Jötunn's face for a moment before disappearing as he went to sit down on the frost covered bed. There was a slight crunching noise as Loki sat down on the covers, but the sound nor the coldness of the frost covers seemed to bother him. Lotor stood next to the chair he was in previously. While he would like to take a seat in it, he would prefer that he didn't make himself cold or wet from the unexpected frost.

Silence came over the two of them, waiting for the other to start the conversation. While Lotor would have prefered to take some control of how the conversation will go, he knew it was better to let the Jötunn start. Loki needed some semblance of control, even if it was something like telling his past.

Then Loki took another breath.

"I am Jötunn in blood. Whether I have anything else is a mystery as I killed my birth father Laufey before he could tell me anything." He paused, searching for his next bit of words to tell the Galra. Lotor saw that his hands started to grip the frost covered sheets. "Odin my adopted father found me as a babe in one of the Jötunhiem temples and decided to take me back to Asgard. His intentions for doing such a thing was that he could raise me and use me to negotiate a peace treaty with the Jötnar in the distant future."

For a moment, Lotor let the information sink in. He turned all the possible meanings that the king of Asgard would possibly have for not following through his plan. "I'm guessing that he wasn't able to follow through his plan since you are still here and not on your planet of origin."

"Correct. The Jötnar quickly came to the agreement that Odin had given them before I was able to grow up. They didn't have any power after Odin had taken the Winter Casket from them in the war and they were desperate to be left alone from Asgard." Loki replied, looking straight ahead to the blank white wall.

"And what it seems from my observation of you using your Jötunn form that you don't like to use it for any reason. There's more to it than simply living on a different world." Lotor carefully said. He knew prodding at something as sensitive as this would cause more harm than good for either of them.

"I was never told I was a Frost Giant when I was a child. I was lead to believe that I was born as an Odinson and that I could be an Asgardian king." Another pause, a flicker of anger flashing through Loki's face. " And yet my father thought it was appropriate for our caretakers to tell Thor and me stories of the bloodthirsty Frost Giants and how we should never met one by ourselves."

Lotor took time to absorb that. While he knew that his father was a man who ruled through fear and power, he never needed an alien species to be the scare tactic to keep the soldiers nor the general population of the Galra in line. (Except maybe Voltron.)

"Truly it must have been horrible to find out your true heritage, especially for the internal hatred you must have formed during your childhood. " Lotor replied, making his words have impact on the other man. If this was going to be a friendship of mutual bonding then he would have to force everything he had in him to accept and help Loki in the coming future.

"But it still doesn't mean you can't create something new and beautiful from that hatred. It will be a long process and it will be much harder than anything you will ever do to find the beauty in this form you were born with. But one day I can guarantee that you will be proud of its beauty and how you can use it to your advantage."

With that he went silent. He watched for Loki's reaction, hoping that the words he used would push against the impossible walls that the Jötunn had built up during his long life.

For a minute all he could see was the careful blank face that Loki seemed to default to when there was nothing else he could use at his disposal. Then slowly the words dug their way into the dark blue skin and created a breakdown that the Asgardian prince desperately needed. He stood up from the bed, taking deep breaths that caused the room to grow colder and colder. Loki started to destroy the bed and the chair that was nearby with his bare hands along with the green whispers of his magic that was being let loose. Lotor quickly made his way to the doorway, watching as the Jötunn let out a feral scream as he continued to let his breakdown take its course.

Lotor went through the same thing many years ago when he realized that finding out his Altean heritage from something else besides a book would never be possible. It was a soul destroying to say the least and it took more years to create his own identity that he wouldn't be disappointed with.

He continued to watch Loki from the doorway, making sure that the breakdown wasn't going to cause any harm to Loki or anyone outside of the room. He could already see that the Jötunn form was powerful, even if Loki didn't know how properly use it yet. Frost and ice came from Loki's body, covering the floor and the broken pieces of the bed and chair.

The temperature of the room was also dropping. While Lotor had come across planets that held nothing but snow and ice, they wouldn't come close to what Loki was creating in this form. Still Lotor stayed in the doorway, forcing himself to stand the bitter cold for as long as he needed to.

Slowly Loki started to lose steam. His movement slowed down and the fierce look that burned in his eyes had also disappeared. With the last few things broken and left on the floor, Loki stood in the middle of the chaotic room. Ice had covered every inch of the walls and floor and frost layered itself on top of that. Despite coming from rage, there was still beauty in it.

Certainly if Loki could ever gain control of his Jötunn form then he would be one of the more feared people in the battle field.

Taking a careful step towards the Jötunn, Lotor knew that he had finally won the other's trust. At least for now. As he moved beside the taller man, he saw the conflicting thoughts race through the deep red eyes. With a gentle hand, Lotor place it on Loki's large hand. It was one of the few places that he could reach in such a tall figure. The bare touch burned his hand, but he held through. He would earn Loki's trust in any way, even if it meant pain like this.

Loki snapped his head towards Lotor's touch and quickly moved his hand away. Then quicker than Lotor could comprehend, Loki had shifted back to his Asgardian form and was quickly looking over his injured hand. The palm of his hand had turned from a warm brown to a blue and black burn. For a moment he was stunned at the sight of it and how Loki was holding his hand carefully.

Then he saw the green mist of Loki's magic and how it caused the sudden swelling of his palm to go down. It was quietly for a long time as Loki concentrated on his hand. Lotor waited until Loki let his hand go before speaking up.

"It seems you need to gain some control over your form before unleashing it into battle. I fear that treating wounds like this would be quite taxing for you or any magical healer we might have."

"That seems wise." Loki muttered. Lotor could see he was focusing on his hand still, internalizing his mistake.

With a sign, Lotor pulled the top half of his patched up flight off and grabbed Loki's hand. He guided it towards a scar on his shoulder where a monster had taken a bite out of him when he was younger and less experienced in battle. The Druids had done everything to patch him back up, but even with the technology that Galra had developed it still scared.

The sharp ridges of where fake skin met real skin, it created quite the picture for anyone who didn't know the story.

"We all make mistakes, but the only way to get over them is to learn from them. This scar taught me that taking on a creature that was beyond my skill level is not a wise choice. " He said. He moved Loki's hand from the shoulder scar to the burned palm. "This one has taught me that I shouldn't touch you when you're unaware."

"You're quite the wise alien. You sure you're not one of those preachers from Midgard?" Loki said, a smile forming on his face.

Lotor only chuckled in return. "I only say what I found to be true. It would be uncoming if the Galra Prince didn't know how to lead through mistakes of the past and the ones I'll make on my own."

"You know more than what Thor and I knew a few years ago. I probably would have hated you."

"I wouldn't doubt that."

Loki then looked up from his scars and into his yes and asked "Would you like me to return you to your Galra form?"

Lotor could see that Loki was being genuine in asking him that. But it was not needed at the moment. "I think I'll practice what I've preached to you about heritage. I'll stay in my Altean form until I know how to fight with it like another other good Galra soldier." He placed his un burned hand on Loki's shoulder and gave him a smile. "But I will take up on that offer if I feel that my other form is needed."

With that the two of them left the room to seek the medbay. The ice slowly but surely started to melt, taking away the pain that the two aliens had given it today.

* * *

I'm glad I got to write this quick! Don't worry I have many plans for the Infinity War fic and how I'll fix some of the things that I really disliked in the movie. (Namely the first 5 minutes because that hurt my soul)

But it was interesting to write the talk between the two of them. I knew that even if Loki wanted to discuss this part of himself with someone that seemed similar, he still wouldn't give it up easily. Lotor however wasn't taking any of that shit and made Loki decide whether he truly wanted Lotor as someone to trust or not. And if this will help, I basically listened to "Follow Me" by Muse during that scene and for the rest of the chapter lol. It just seemed fitting.

But yeah I'm letting Lotor also stay Altean for the time being. I have big plans for that in the next fic :D

Hopefully you enjoyed reading this one shot!


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